KILAUEA — There’s a new gym on the North Shore, and while relatively small, it’s packed with equipment hard to come by on Kaua‘i.
That’s according to Kilauea Phys Ed managers and personal trainers Mo Geiger-Wright and Liz Aguilera, who took stock of the 5,500-square-foot facility last week.
“There’s Fit Lab, and I feel like the North Shore has a ton of yoga studios as well,” Geiger-Wright said. “But this is the only one that has this kind of cardio equipment … Basically everything that we have here, it’s not on the North Shore.”
Kilauea Phys Ed, located in the ‘Ahuimanu Shopping Center on Ala Namahana Parkway off Kilauea Road, opened earlier thisyear.
It’s owned by Joshua Nations of the Kaua‘i Athletic Club, which has locations in Lihu‘e and Kapa‘a.
Unlike the athletic club sites, which are two-story buildings with group fitness classes, the Kilauea Phys Ed brand emphasizes state-of-the-art machines and personal training, billing itself as the North Shore’s only fully equipped gym.
“Josh was like, ‘I want this to be a really training-focused gym,’” Geiger-Wright said. “It’s really individualized and specific to the person that you’re working with, versus classes of 10-plus people, which are really popular at the other gyms. We just didn’t have the space for it here.”
Kilauea Phys Ed makes the most of the floor space it does have. A row of ellipticals and other cardio machines line the gym’s front wall. Behind them is an array of strength and cable machines, free weights, benches, medicine balls and more.
Other pieces of equipment, including a rowing machine and sled, are located outside.
Some of the gear can be found at no other gym on Kaua‘i, according to Geiger-Wright and Aguilera.
However, one doesn’t need to be an expert in exercise to patronize Kilauea Phys Ed.
“We wanted to make sure that we had something for everyone,” Aguilera said.
Geiger-Wright agreed.
“I have clients that are 16 all the way to 70, so I think everyone can get a good workout there,” she said.
Pandemic paused opening
The opening of the North Shore’s newest gym was delayed by the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent supply line shortages.
Nations signed the gym’s lease just months before the pandemic hit, Geiger-Wright recalled.
“I think everything went silent for almost a year, and it was this, ‘Are we gonna do it? What’s happening COVID-wise?’” she continued.
Then, Kilauea Phys Ed found itself with a problem that could only happen to an island-based gym.
“There was a whole thing with (shipping) containers,” Geiger-Wright said, “where the equipment was ready but there was a shortage of containers. So all our stuff was just waiting to be sent out.”
But those difficulties are now behind the fitness facility, which is joined by a slew of other new businesses in center.
‘Ahuimanu property owner Hunt Companies Inc. claimed it is now 98% leased “despite the challenging economic environment over the past two years,” in a mid-March press release. Businesses in the ‘Ahuimanu center now include North Shore Chiropractic Clinic, relocated from Princeville, and offices for real estate company Hawai‘i Life, the statewide affiliate of Christie’s International Real Estate.
• Info: https://kilaueape.com/
